The Declaration of Independence in Italian

Saturday, June 1, 2013

The Florentine Gazzetta Universale o Sieno Notizie Istoriche, Politiche, di Scienze, Arti, Agricoltura of Saturday, September 14, 1776, n.73 published a translation of the Declaration of Independence that, to my knowledge, is the first one to have appeared in Italian along with the one that was published the same day in a second Florentine gazette, Notizie del Mondo. The translation was part of a dispatch from London of August 23 containing news of the rebellion in America. The language used in the translation is elaborate, archaic and it reflects the changes that have occurred in the Italian language in the last two centuries The English text, however, is rendered with accuracy and almost literally, thus showing the way to all subsequent Italian translations.
The Gazzetta introduced the Declaration writing: "Essendosi pubblicata la dichiarazione per parte dei Rappresentanti gli Stati uniti dell’America adunati nel General Congresso sotto il dì 4 luglio 1776 non lasciamo di riportarla, come l’epoca la più strepitosa di questa Confederazione, ed è la seguente: [Having being published the declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled, July, 4, 1776, we do not leave it unreported, as the most tremendous epoch of this Confederation, and it is as follows:]